Hawks name Alton Lister assistant coach
Aug 22nd, 2007 by Inside Hoops
InsideHoops.com NewsWire: In a restructuring of the coaching staff, the Hawks have named former NBA center Alton Lister to an assistant coaching position with an emphasis on the team’s big men, it was announced today by Hawks Executive VP/GM Billy Knight. With Lister’s addition, the team has also announced that former assistant coaches Herb Brown and Greg Ballard will return for the 2007-08 season as a consultant to the head coach and a scout, respectively.
A 16-year NBA veteran, Lister played in 953 games for five teams after being selected in the first round of the 1981 Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. In addition to the Bucks, Lister also spent time with the Seattle Supersonics, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Portland Trailblazers, participating in postseason action in 11 of those 16 seasons. The 7-footer had his best season in 1986-87 when he totaled 11.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 2.4 bpg.
Over the last seven years, Lister served as the head basketball coach at Mesa Community College (AZ), during which time 30 of his players moved on to play at four-year colleges, with four currently playing professionally in Europe.
He has also gained coaching experience serving as one of the instructors at the nationally-acclaimed Pete Newell’s Big Camp in Las Vegas, the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ, the NBA Pre-Draft Camp and the Nike Desert Classic. Lister has also hosted various skills and drills camp for men and women post players in the Phoenix and Mesa, AZ areas.
An All-State and high school All-American at Woodrow Wilson High in Dallas (TX), Lister was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1988. He went on to play at San Jacinto Junior College where he led the team in rebounding and again received All-American honors. As a senior, Lister and the Sun Devils were the number three ranked team in the country, and four of the players on that squad (including Lister) were selected in the first round of the ’81 NBA Draft.
Selected as a member of the 1980 USA Olympic basketball team, Lister and his teammates were unable to participate in the Moscow Games when the United States and five other countries refused to send its athletes to Moscow as a protest to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
Born October 1, 1958 in Dallas, Alton L. Lister is the parent of four children, J. Ross, Alton Jr., Alexa and Amari.
Training Camp ’07 will begin Monday, October 1st with Media Day activities set to begin at 3 p.m. on the Philips Arena practice court, while practices are scheduled to start on Tuesday, October 2nd (more details to come at a later date).